Graphic Design Technology

As effective communication efforts in today's world have become more and more visual in nature, the ability to design compelling images has become more and more invaluable. Further, the demand for such skills will only increase as new media technologies emerge.

In recognition of these critical trends, the Graphic Design Technology program at SUNY Cobleskill prepares students for careers in the design industry by integrating theory and technical skills in an innovative applied learning curriculum.

Classes are focused on the development of creative thinking and fluency in the principles of design as well as the technical manipulation of software. Using state-of-the-art technology, students are taught in small classes, working side by side with faculty members to develop and hone their conceptual and practical design skills.

The graphic design curriculum includes art history, typography and layout, print production, web design, photography, and drawing. Upon completion of the two-year graphic design program, students are prepared to begin their careers or move seamlessly into a four-year program, while graduates of our four-year graphic design technology B.S. program will have attained the skills necessary to succeed as graphic design professionals.

Sample courses include:

Upon completion of the two-year program, Graphic Design majors are prepared to either begin their career or into the four-year program. Graduates of the four-year program will have the background and skills necessary to succeed as design professionals in a variety of print and online venues.

 

The Graphic Design program curriculum presents students with internship opportunities (including optional credit-bearing internships) both on- and off-campus.

Off-campus positions include those with:

• The Student Success and Applied Learning Alliance
• Cobleskill Auxiliary Services
• The Wellness Center
• Student Leadership
• The Van Wagenen Library
• The Communications & Marketing department

Students can also work as academic tutors six evenings a week in our Mac Lab.

Off-campus internship positions can include those with local businesses and cultural venues in the surrounding counties as well advertising and design agencies throughout the Capital District.

While students can participate in internships during the academic year, most do so during their summer break.

Senior Seminar I
This is the first in a series of two capstone courses required of all seniors completing their Bachelor of Science degree. The courses are designed to be iterative, allowing students to fully develop sophisticated design ideas over the span of an academic year. Typically, students conceptualize and complete the formal research component of the capstone experience during the Fall term.

The class begins with students doing preparatory readings and proposing topics for their senior projects. The research phase explores the topic from multiple perspectives and includes the use of academic sources, interviews, surveys, focus group data and findings from site visits.

Students develop their theses over time, with formative assessments being given at every stage in the writing process. Then, at a research development workshop attended by all students, a research librarian reviews students' resources and methods in order to evaluate their effectiveness.

The research completed in this seminar informs and provides the preparatory basis for the work that is done in Senior Seminar II.

Senior Seminar II 
This is the second course in the senior capstone experience and focuses on the design and production of a senior show. Beginning with the foundational research they conducted during the previous semester, students determine a list of design items to be created.

Each student creates a logo for their project, as well as posters, business cards and a website and process book documenting their research and creative process. In addition, students are expected to expand the scope of their project by producing such print items as guide books, instructional books, informational pamphlets, clothing items, games, packaging, labels and tags, menus, and app designs.

Students are expected to produce all original work for this project including illustration, photography, typography and fully coded websites. They then print, cut, mount and install their own work in the gallery, thus displaying the totality of their efforts in the two senior seminar classes.

Ultimately, these projects are limited only by each student's imagination and determination to do outstanding work.

Logos, the student design club, provides the opportunity for doing extra research and additional design. The club operates as a collaborative "agency" working on a variety of real, client-based design projects, both on-campus and in the local community.